Standup9ja - AuGF: 17 ministries failed to account for N24.3 billion
Seventeen federal ministries failed to account for the sum
of N24.3 billion, the Auditor-General’s 2015 annual report has revealed.
The report revealed that the infractions were perpetrated by
top government officials between January and December 31, 2015.
The report seen by Daily Trust showed that Ministry of
Power, Works and Housing top the chat with N9.2billion; Aviation - N702
million; Water Resources - N3.4 billion; Foreign Affairs - N4.4 million; Labour and Employment - N84.7
million and Information and Culture N561.6 million.
Others are Ministry of Petroleum Resources - N1.7 billion;
Women Affairs - N20 million; Solid Minerals Development - N37.6 million;
Transport -N87.8 million; Environment - N86.5 million and Niger Delta Affairs -
N1.9 billion.
Ministry of Defence - N2.692bn; defunct Ministry of Police
Affairs - N1.839bn; Youths and Sports Development - N1.144bn; Ministry of
Industry, Trade and Investment - N1.076.bn, and the Ministry of Finance -
N22.103m.
The report submitted to the National Assembly has since been
assigned to the Senate Committee on Public Accounts for further action.
In the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing the report
showed that the amount standing against Works sector is N1.2 billion; Power
N7.3 billion and Housing N723 million.
In the power sector, the report stated that the sum of
N7billion was received by the Ministry in January 2015 as shown in the
accounts.
“This fund was spread into four commercial banks under the
account name Hydropower Transmission Project. The budget for 2015 was not yet
passed as at the time this money was received by the Ministry in January 2015
while the account for the year 2014 was already closed as 31st, 2014,” the
report stated.
It also observed that there was no evidence that such money
was budgeted for the Hydropower Transmission Project in either 2014 or 2015
fiscal year of the Ministry Appropriation Act.
Another expenditure amounting to N246 million was also
queried in the power sector. The money was paid to some staff of the Ministry
as ‘advanced’.
During the Audit of the Ministry, the retirement vouchers
and the details of retirement were not forwarded for examination despite
several demands.
“Having exceeded the various time limits stipulated in the
financial regulations, N246million should be recovered from the officers
immediately, forwarding recovery particulars for verification,” the report
said.
N1.2bn unaccounted in Works
The report said the contractor handling the 18km
Manyam-Ushonog-lessel-Kantyo-Oju-Agile-Ongba road in Benue state abandoned the
project after collecting N155million. The Auditor-General demanded for the
refund of N 124 million.
It also demanded for the refund of N218 million being part
of the money paid the contractor handling Yashi-Duguri-Yalo road in Bauchi
state.
The Auditor-General ordered that a total of N902 be refunded
to the Federation account by five contractors that collected the money but have
abandoned sites.
N104m staff advances not paid
In the Housing sector of the Ministry, the Auditor-General
report stated that advance ledger revealed that various advances granted to
staff totalling N104million were overdue for retirement as at 31st December,
2015.
“Multiple advances were granted to some staff without
retiring the previous ones. The unretired advances should be recovered from the
officers’ emoluments en-bloc forwarding recovery particulars for verification,”
the report said.
Aviation
The Auditor-General queried the Ministry of Aviation for
spending N427 million on the procurement of Navigational Aids/spare parts and
maintenance services without approval.
“Scrutiny of the capital appropriation document revealed a
zero budget allocation for the purchase of Air Navigation equipment with code
number 23010131. This constituted a gross violation and distortion of the
Appropriation Act,” the report said.
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry has been requested
to furnish the Auditor-General with the statutory financial instrument of the
National Assembly authorizing the expenditure.
“In addition, the responsible officials involved in the
authorization and disbursement of the fund should be held liable for lack of
due diligence, “it said.
The Auditor-General observed that 51 recurrent expenditure
account items, mainly local and international travels amounting to N147million
were inappropriately charged to the Capital Development Account of the Ministry
of Aviation.
“The Permanent Secretary has been asked to explain the
circumstances that warranted the Ministry’s misapplication of capital
development fund for expenditure which appears at variance with the
Appropriation Act and extant.” It directed that the amounts involved should be
recovered and recovery particulars forwarded to the Auditor-General for
verification.
Petroleum Resources
In the Ministry of Petroleum Resources 39 vouchers amounting to N535.6million for
recurrent and capital expenditures were hidden and not produced for audit
examination during the time of audit exercise despite numerous demands.
“In view of this, I find it difficult to accept these
expenditures as proper and legitimate charges against public funds, “ the
Auditor-General asserted.
Dam projects
At the Ministry of Water Resources, the Auditor-General
observed that a contract for the Adaba River Dam project in Enugu was awarded
at N2.5 billion with a completion period 24 months.
The report stated that the total payment for the contract
from 2010 to 2015 amounted to N488.7 million.
“This is a clear indication that no serious funding
arrangement was put in place for this project. The permanent Secretary has been
requested to explain what became of the sum of N827 million earmarked for the
project in 2010 as contained in the Council memo,” the report said
The contract for the construction of Ibusa small earth Dam
in Delta State awarded at N914 million was also queried.
An analysis of the payment made so far to the contractor
revealed that as at December 2015, only N75million has been paid out of the
N137 million mobilisation fee.
Niger Delta
At the Niger Delta Affairs Ministry, the report said a
sample of schedules for deduction of withholding and Value Added Tax of
N1.8billion was generated during the period under review but that the
supporting receipts of remittance from Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS)
amounted to N144 million.
“The difference of N1.7 billion represents withholding and
VAT generated but not supported with evidence of remittance from the FIRS. The Permanent Secretary has been requested to
produce relevant remittance receipts from FIRS verification.
“The above observations have been communicated to the
Permanent Secretary on August29, 2016 and his response is still being
awaited.”
Defence
The report said that in the ministry of defence, the sum of
N1bn, being the overhead cost transferred to the Chief of Naval Staff for the
first quarter of 2015, “could not be traced into the vote book, cashbook and
bank statement of the ministry.
“The entry of this amount into the above mentioned books of
accounts will make it easier to reconcile it with the monthly returns of
expenditure rendered by the Nigeria Navy, showing expenditure, liabilities
incurred and balance available, as stated in the Financial Regulation 406,” the
report said.
The report said the permanent secretary in the ministry was
informed about the anomalies on October 2, 2015 and that responses were still
being awaited despite a reminder dated July 8, 2016.
Police affairs
As for the defunct ministry of police affairs, the report
said vouchers for the sum of N698.532m were raised and paid to various
contractors for the procurement of different types of vehicles, 92 stand-alone
solar street lights and other services between April and July, 2015.
“Further audit scrutiny of the payment vouchers revealed
that relevant supporting documents were not attached for audit examination.”
The report indicated further that payments amounting to
N718.911m were made to 11 corporate bodies for different services rendered, but
that “surprisingly, no further documents regarding this payment were produced
for audit review despite repeated request, contrary to Financial Regulation
110.”
Youths and sports development
In the ministry of youths and sports development, under the
National Sports Commission, the Auditor General’s report said payment vouchers
for different sums amounting to N497.999m “were hidden and not presented for
audit verification.
“This violates Financial Regulation 110 and Section 85 (2)
of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, which gives my
office free access to all books of account and other related documents,” the
Auditor General said.
The Auditor General’s report further indicated that the sums
of N424.808m and N403.647m were generated as revenue in 2014 and 2015
respectively.
However, the report said,” the accounting records maintained
by the finance and account department of the ministry reported N435.495m and
N396.734m as the revenue generated in 2014 and 2015 respectively, resulting to
overstated revenue of N10.687m in 2014 and understated revenue of N6.912m in
2015.”
Finance
In the case of the federal ministry of finance, the report
said the sum of N16.858m cash advances granted to some staff of the ministry in
October and December of 2015 were not retired, contrary to Financial Regulation
420.
The report said that the attention of all the permanent
secretaries in the affected ministries above was drawn to the queries against
their ministries, but that their responses were still awaited about two years
after.
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